Monahan was managing partner at Magna Global, the media market research unit of Interpublic Global, whose activities include digital marketing, advertising and media buying. He had worked at Magna since July 2011, according to his LinkedIn profile. Between July 2010 and July 2011, he worked as executive vice president, managing partner for media services and research unit IPG Media Lab, where he helped to develop marketing techniques and figure out how advertising works on consumers. He also guided social marketing for clients, among other tasks, during his previous tenure at media agency Universal McCann, which hired him in 2002, according to LinkedIn.

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“Brian’s industry leadership in advertising technology and insights has helped brands resonate with consumers in the digital age,” Anderson says. “His experience and leadership will help Wal-Mart seize the opportunity to deliver anytime, anywhere shopping experiences.”

Monahan joins Wal-Mart as the chain plots an aggressive course for e-commerce. The chain’s online sales jumped 30% year over year in Wal-Mart’s fiscal first quarter, and web sales could approach $10 billion this year. To spur that growth, Wal-Mart’s e-commerce research arm, @WalMartLabs, continues to absorb technology and staff via acquisitions as the chain figures out how to use social media to tie together mobile, PC and in-store shopping. Wal-Mart also wants to increase its e-commerce market share in such countries as Brazil, China and the United Kingdom.